Anytime the River Ridge and Potosi/Cassville boys’ basketball teams take the court against one another, you can bet the intensity will be turned up just a little bit more than normal and chances are pretty good it will be a competitive battle right to the very end.

Fans in attendance at last Thursday night’s contest certainly got their money’s worth once again, in an overtime battle that saw coach Mike Uppena’s P/C boys escape with a 50-48 conference victory.

With the win, the P/C boys improved to 6-0 in Six Rivers play and 7-4 overall, while coach Dan Moris and his Timberwolves fell to 4-3 in league play and 8-5 overall.

River Ridge, who was taking it to the rim for high-percentage shots in the first half, held a 30-19 lead at the intermission and looked poised to do the same in the early part of the second half.

Coach Mike Uppena had different plans though, switching to a 2-3 zone defense in the second half after playing mostly man-to-man in the first, looking to clog up the middle and cut off driving lanes.

With 7:49 to play in the contest, River Ridge took a 43-31 lead on a 3-pointer by junior Jackson White, but struggled from there out.

In the first 11 minutes of the second half, the Timberwolves were 6-of-17 (35 percent) from the field, including 1-of-4 from 3-point range, while the P/C boys weren’t any better at 5-of-17 (29 percent) from the field, including 1-of-6 from 3-point range.

It was in the final seven minutes of regulation where one team separated themselves from the other, as the P/C boys outscored the Timberwolves 15-3 while going 5-of-7 from the field, including 3-of-5 from long range. River Ridge on the other hand, was 0-for-2 from the field and 3-of-5 from the free throw line during the final stretch.

While Potosi/Cassville never did hold a lead in the second half, a 3-pointer from junior Drew Richardson evened the score at 46-46 with 41 seconds to play, and with neither team able to add to their score in the final seconds of regulation, the game went into overtime.

In the overtime session, P/C senior Alex Friederick came up with a steal and pass to Richardson for a lay up, giving the P/C boys an early 48-46 lead seconds into the extra session.

It wasn’t until River Ridge senior Brandon Davis scored on a put-back basket with 16 seconds to play that River Ridge was able to even the score at 48-48.

After getting the ball past half court, coach Uppena took a timeout with five seconds showing on the clock. The P/C boys then came out of the timeout with an inbounds pass to Friederick near half court, who then dribbled to the right side of the lane for a pull-up jumper that found nothing but the bottom of the net as time expired.

In overtime, River Ridge’s shooting woes continued, as they were 1-5 from the field and 0-for-2 from the free throw line, while also committing three turnovers. Coach Uppena’s squad was 2-of-6 from the field and 0-for-2 from the line in the extra session, while committing one turnover.

The Timberwolves were led by Davis and his 17 points, while Reese Drew chipped in seven, and Noah Copsey and Jackson White each finished with six. Davis also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, dished out six assists and came away with four of his team’s six steals.

Both teams were in action last Tuesday night prior to Thursday night’s meeting, and both picked up non-conference victories.

The Timberwolves held on for a 75-67 victory over visiting De Soto, after holding a halftime lead of 37-27 over the Pirates and then being outscored in the second half 40-38.

From the field, River Ridge made 28-of-57 (49 percent) shot attempts, including 8-of-24 (33 percent) from long range. They were also 11-of-13 (85 percent) from the free throw line.

Davis led River Ridge with 23 points, five rebounds, six assists and seven steals. Reese Drew finished with 14 points, followed by Brock Bunge with 11. Lane Copsey and Jackson White each chipped in eight points.